Prayer and Fasting for GAFCON - Day 28

A Psalm for Early Morning (Lauds)
Antiphon: The Lord is King * and hath put on glorious apparel: he hath girded Himself with strength.

Dominus Regnavit. Psalm xciii.
THE LORD is King, and hath put on glorious apparel; * the LORD hath put on his apparel, and girded himself with strength.
He hath made the round world so sure, * that it cannot be moved.
Ever since the world began, hath thy seat been prepared: * thou art from everlasting.
The floods are risen, O LORD, the floods have lift up their voice; * the floods lift up their waves.
The waves of the sea are mighty, and rage horribly; * but yet the LORD, who dwelleth on high, is mightier.
Thy testimonies, O LORD, are very sure: * holiness becometh thine house for ever.

Antiphon: The Lord is King * and hath put on glorious apparel: he hath girded Himself with strength.

Thanks to commonprayer.org

The Psalms of Ascent (these are also appointed for Tuesday Morning after Trinity IV, 1928 BCP, USA)

The One Hundred Twenty Third Psalm

UNTO thee lift I up mine eyes, * O thou that dwellest in the heavens.
Behold, even as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress, * even so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God, until he have mercy upon us.
Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us; * for we are utterly despised.
Our soul is filled with the scornful reproof of the wealthy, * and with the despitefulness of the proud.


The One Hundred Twenty Fourth Psalm

IF the LORD himself had not been on our side, now may Israel say; * if the LORD himself had not been on our side, when men rose up against us;
They had swallowed us up alive; * when they were so wrathfully displeased at us.
Yea, the waters had drowned us, * and the stream had gone over our soul.
The deep waters of the proud * had gone even over our soul.
But praised be the LORD, * who hath not given us over for a prey unto their teeth.
Our soul is escaped even as a bird out of the snare of the fowler; * the snare is broken, and we are delivered.
Our help standeth in the Name of the LORD, * who hath made heaven and earth.

Intercession for GAFCON
Almighty God, pour your refreshing Holy Spirit on the GAFCON pilgrims. They have suffered scorn, contempt and wrath from false religion and irreligion alike. Let your pilgrims praise you as they go up to Jerusalem, and return to their labors in the power of the Spirit. We pray in Jesus' Name. Amen.

First Lesson
4 Some time later Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who lived in the valley of Sorek. 5 The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, “Entice Samson to tell you what makes him so strong and how he can be overpowered and tied up securely. Then each of us will give you 1,100 pieces of silver.”
6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me what makes you so strong and what it would take to tie you up securely.”
7 Samson replied, “If I were tied up with seven new bowstrings that have not yet been dried, I would become as weak as anyone else.”
8 So the Philistine rulers brought Delilah seven new bowstrings, and she tied Samson up with them. 9 She had hidden some men in one of the inner rooms of her house, and she cried out, “Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!” But Samson snapped the bowstrings as a piece of string snaps when it is burned by a fire. So the secret of his strength was not discovered.
10 Afterward Delilah said to him, “You’ve been making fun of me and telling me lies! Now please tell me how you can be tied up securely.”
11 Samson replied, “If I were tied up with brand-new ropes that had never been used, I would become as weak as anyone else.”
12 So Delilah took new ropes and tied him up with them. The men were hiding in the inner room as before, and again Delilah cried out, “Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!” But again Samson snapped the ropes from his arms as if they were thread.
13 Then Delilah said, “You’ve been making fun of me and telling me lies! Now tell me how you can be tied up securely.”
Samson replied, “If you were to weave the seven braids of my hair into the fabric on your loom and tighten it with the loom shuttle, I would become as weak as anyone else.”
So while he slept, Delilah wove the seven braids of his hair into the fabric. 14 Then she tightened it with the loom shuttle. Again she cried out, “Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!” But Samson woke up, pulled back the loom shuttle, and yanked his hair away from the loom and the fabric.
Judges 16, NLT

Intercession for GAFCON
Father, your leaders need guidance. They want to do what Christ commands. They want all His disciples to be one, and they want to love all their brothers and sisters in Christ. But this is so difficult today - there are so many entanglements that are destructive and that weaken the proclamation of the Gospel. Set your pilgrims free to serve Jesus Christ in perfect freedom. In His Name we pray. Amen.

Second Lesson
26 So they arrived in the region of the Gerasenes, across the lake from Galilee. 27 As Jesus was climbing out of the boat, a man who was possessed by demons came out to meet him. For a long time he had been homeless and naked, living in a cemetery outside the town.
28 As soon as he saw Jesus, he shrieked and fell down in front of him. Then he screamed, “Why are you interfering with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Please, I beg you, don’t torture me!” 29 For Jesus had already commanded the evil spirit to come out of him. This spirit had often taken control of the man. Even when he was placed under guard and put in chains and shackles, he simply broke them and rushed out into the wilderness, completely under the demon’s power.
30 Jesus demanded, “What is your name?”
“Legion,” he replied, for he was filled with many demons. 31 The demons kept begging Jesus not to send them into the bottomless pit.
32 There happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding on the hillside nearby, and the demons begged him to let them enter into the pigs.
So Jesus gave them permission. 33 Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the entire herd plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned.
34 When the herdsmen saw it, they fled to the nearby town and the surrounding countryside, spreading the news as they ran. 35 People rushed out to see what had happened. A crowd soon gathered around Jesus, and they saw the man who had been freed from the demons. He was sitting at Jesus’ feet, fully clothed and perfectly sane, and they were all afraid. 36 Then those who had seen what happened told the others how the demon-possessed man had been healed. 37 And all the people in the region of the Gerasenes begged Jesus to go away and leave them alone, for a great wave of fear swept over them.
So Jesus returned to the boat and left, crossing back to the other side of the lake. 38 The man who had been freed from the demons begged to go with him. But Jesus sent him home, saying, 39 “No, go back to your family, and tell them everything God has done for you.” So he went all through the town proclaiming the great things Jesus had done for him.
Luke 8, NLT

Intercession for GAFCON
Father, protect your pilgrims from every spiritual enemy sent against them. Give your pilgrims the freedom and boldness to return to the mission field, proclaiming all the great things that Jesus has done for them. In His Name we pray. Amen.

A GAFCON Pilgrim's Perspective
I’m sure there’ll be many stories of struggles, of martyrdom, of great perseverance under great trial. So for us, I think we’ll be greatly, in some ways chastised by those examples, chastised that we are not bold enough in our witness for Christ, that we don’t push the envelope hard enough and greatly encouraged by the struggles of all of our brothers and sisters in countries where gospel preaching is very difficult.
Dr. Karen Sowada, Standing Committee, Diocese of Sydney (Australia)

The Collect
Fourth Sunday after Trinity
O GOD, the protector of all that trust in thee, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy; Increase and multiply upon us thy mercy, that, thou being our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we finally lose not the things eternal. Grant this, O heavenly Father, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.